Sink or Swim
by lunarmage
Summary: Scorpius Malfoy's friends try to teach him to swim as their second year draws to a close. The giant squid also lends a hand…tentacle.


Exams were over at Hogwarts, so, until school let out for the summer, the students had little to do but loiter on the grounds. Fatefully, Scorpius Malfoy's friends had decided that they wanted to swim in the lake before their second year ended. Scorpius couldn't make any excuses, he had no studying or homework to do, and he had no choice but to reluctantly accompany his friends to the lake.

The weather was lovely, not too warm, with a slight breeze to cool the air. A perfect day for swimming, which was the last thing Scorpius wanted to do. As his friends waded into the lake, Scorpius hung back at the water's edge. Rose, already waist-deep in the water, looked back at him. She had tied back her curly, reddish-brown hair, and she wore a blue swimsuit that matched her eyes. "What's wrong, Scor?"

"Nothing." He said, quietly.

"Then come on in."

Scorpius stepped into the water, finding the sensation of the waves unnerving, until he stood beside Rose.

Albus and Adair were already splashing in the neck-deep water several feet away. Rose shook her head as Albus pushed Adair under.

"Be careful, you two." She called. Adair's dark head bobbed back up, and he began wrestling with Albus.

"Sorry, Rose." Albus yelled back. "C'mon, you two!"

"Coming." With that, Rose launched herself into the water, making it look easy, graceful.

She surfaced a few meters away, looking back at Scorpius, who hadn't waded in farther than his knees.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Umm." Scorpius replied.

"You can tell me." Rose prodded him.

"I…can't swim." Scorpius admitted, rather bashfully.

"Seriously?" Albus and Adair had swum over to see what the matter was.

Scorpius nodded.

"Then we'll teach you." Albus said.

"No, I'm fine with just watching. Enjoy yourselves, no need to worry about me."

"It's no trouble, not at all." Rose said, completely sincere.

"Yeah, c'mon!" Albus encouraged.

"It's a waste of your time." Scorpius countered.

"Of course not." Adair said, rolling his eyes. "Now get in or we'll push you."

Scorpius waded in to waist-height, and the swimming lesson commenced. He turned out to be a difficult student—reluctant to go out into the water without assistance, scared stiff of going in deeper than his neck. After more than half an hour, they had managed to teach him to doggy-paddle, more complicated strokes were obviously going to take much more effort and time on their part.

Shortly after noon they stopped for lunch, then got right back into the water, despite Scorpius's protests.

"Let's try the freestyle." Rose suggested.

"I don't think I—" Scorpius began to say, but Rose cut him off.

"You can. Just trust us." She encouraged.

"I trust you." He retorted, smiling slightly. "I just don't trust them." He gestured in Adair and Albus's direction. The two boys were again wrestling in the water.

"I don't blame you." She giggled.

Progress with the freestyle stroke was limited. Scorpius had difficulty synchronizing all his arm and leg movements and breathing, but he began to get the hang of it, gradually venturing out into deeper and deeper water as his confidence swelled. He was swimming several meters away from his friends by the peak of the afternoon, and he thought he'd try to swim as far out into the middle of the lake as he could.

Too late, he realized that he was getting tired, and he might not make it back. He panicked, considered calling for help. But he didn't want to sound like a wimp, especially not in front of Rose. As he made his way back to the shallows, his muscles began to ache and he slowed down. _Why is it so far? I didn't swim that far..._

Just when he thought he would drown, something supported him from below. Something large. Glancing over his shoulder, he paled. The giant squid which was rumored to inhabit the depths of the lake now held Scorpius with one massive tentacle.

_What's better, drowning or being squid food?_ Scorpius thought sardonically.

But instead of eating the unfortunate boy, the squid swam close to shore and gently placed the terrified boy back in the shallows with his friends.

Rose was laughing uncontrollably while Albus and Adair looked up, awestruck, at the squid. It lightly patted Scorpius's head and promptly disappeared into deeper waters.

"Thanks?" Scorpius said, not sure if the squid understood.

…

Author's Note: If you were expecting a tentacle joke, sorry to disappoint you….Consider this little one-shot my farewell salute to summer (though somehow we're still getting warm weather in the afternoons, freaky climate).

After reading Deathly Hallows, I vowed to myself that I would not write any Nextgen fanfictions. That pledge lasted for about a month, since writing was a good way for me to beat Post-Potter depression. Even after PPD has worn off, I've found that it's still a lot of fun. Some people write epics about the new challenges the nextgen faces, like wars with muggles, Voldemort's ghost returning (though JKR said it's impossible) etc., but I personally can't imagine that anything too bad would happen to them. They're going to be under a lot less pressure I bet, no world-saving for them.

For those who were wondering who "Adair" is, I guess I should explain. I made him up, he's Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass's son, Scorpius's cousin and friend.

Disclaimer: All character belong to J.K. Rowling, who should really write another book (be it HP or not) and stop making me wait.


End file.
